Obsessed with fighting games.

May 1992; Knott's Berry Farm, California. It was the end of my 6th grade year and everyone on the high honor roll list had secured themselves a sweet trip to Knott's. Oh and how sweet it was going to be! When we finally all piled off the bus and made it into the park, I heard from a far, "Boomerang! We're going on Boomerang!" This was the newest ride at the time, and while not yet a fan of roller coasters, I didn't want to be the odd man out. I found myself shaking with fright but it wasn't enough to pull me out of line. We rode.

As was to be expected, despite the fact that everyone else had an awesome time on the ride, it was the Boomerang that would come back, as they do, to knock me to the ground. Well, not literally, but close enough. I felt miserable; completely sick to my stomach.

I spent the next handful of minutes standing by a very nice trashcan, feeling sick and wondering not only if I was going to throw-up, but how embarrassed I might be if I do. In the end though I didn't, which was the preferred choice anyway. Unfortunately, during my close encounter with the trashcan, I had told my friends to just go on without me. I knew I wouldn't feel up to any other rides any time soon. Upon feeling better I slugged my way over to the arcade and found myself dwindling down the remaining hours of the day with what little money I had to spare. This is where it began.

I'm sure I played lots of games that day, but there are only two that I remember. Street Fighter and Street Fighter II. I remember seeing Street Fighter II and thinking to myself, "Hmm, I should probably start with the first one." I think I was just scared of being challenged by someone who was already familiar with the game. I also knew no one touched the original game anymore so I would be safe. Well, it didn't take long to figure out that the original Street Fighter was one of the hardest, least responsive games ever made. I don't think I even reached for a second quarter after the computer wiped the floor with me. I swallowed my pride and walked over to the corral of Street Fighter II machines.

Blanka is who I remember most from this experience. Whether I played as him, or couldn't beat him, he is who I associated the game with most at first. Later it would be Ken as my older brother took ownership of Ryu. I came to find out quickly that I sucked equally as bad at Street Fighter II as I did the original game, but at least it felt like I was in control of what I was doing, so I kept at it. I remember, for me, the most daunting thing about the Street Fighter games was the fact that they had six buttons per player. It seemed like too much from far away, but once you got in there, it all started to make sense.

This wasn't quite the moment that I got bit by the fighting game bug, but it was certainly the beginning. At least now I knew that when I saw a fighting game, wherever I might be, I wouldn't be scared to approach it.

To be continued...